Thank you for your kind words. You are always generous with your praise.

Yes I will put the larger diameter pipe on my list of extra things to do on my build.

We do have brasso sold in New Zealand .When my engine is operational I will be using this no doubt with a generous dose of good old fashioned elbow grease to keep any hint of dullness away. I have found the use of polishing mops with the appropriate paste invaluable with the polishing of brass and preparing steel ready for chroming on my build so far. If you are not concentrating the mop can grab the part and fire at high velocity around the workshop. Apart from potential damage to part it can take ages to find particularly if wearing ear muffs as you have no idea where it lands. The only other down side with this method of polishing is the dust and crap thrown around my once clean workshop. All good fun.

You never know I may just bring my engine to the United Kingdom particularly if I can find a couple of other engine owners to share the cost of a container. We might just win a cup for travelling the longest distance to some of your rallys.

Bloody hell Shane, we will need welding goggles down at the club if you add anymore bling to Starlight. Phantom Bruce will need to get his a**s into gear to outshine you. I don't like wearing sun glasses so Lord Darby wont be so loud.

Thanks Phil and Ian. Phil I'm sure your engine will have its own character with some bright bits to keep polished . Yes phantom Bruce will have some competition.Ian the build has certainly taught me patience. My day job is working in an office where things happen quickly. Certainly not the case with the hours required on this project.

Well, what can I say, I think all the other folks comments have said it all!! I think that the "personalisation" of these engines is what makes a brilliant kit of parts into an "outstanding" project for others also to appreciate... And you just took the "Showman" in "shane" into orbit!! That colour scheme & shine will be "NOTICED" world wide & CAN NOT be ignored!!!... I think I can honestly say I have never seen any engine, full size or miniature which has such a feast of colour on it!!!

It may not be to every ones taste, but it'll be remembered by everyone who sees it!! (The "rivet counters" will be turning in their graves!!) I think you can safely presume to have "made your mark" in the steam engine world!!

Blimey Shane that is one blingy man stand, I don't envy you cleaning that waterpump, my powdercoated one is constantly filthy!!! You will indeed turn heads with your engine and the finish is amazing. I hope you can get it to England, I would certainly make sure I could park Blackbeard next to it for a contrast.

Hi Tony and Brian,Yes quite bright. I guess with my colour scheme I am trying to put myself in the shoes of the travelling showmen of yesteryear. They wanted their engines to attract the public to the fair ground for rides etc. No two engines were alike and the brighter and ability to distinguish from other showmens engines the better. Well thats my theory anyway.

I appreciate the great feed back and yes Starlight Express will definitely have a fire in her belly!

Thanks Tim.I haven't heard that saying but must admit there is a certain amount of satisfaction with the mindless task of transforming a dull casting to something bright and shiny. Only time will tell if I have the patience to keep the bling polished . Gas to fire Starlight Express would be too easy . She will definitely be fired by coal after I polish each piece first!Cheers Shane

Hello fellow builders. I have been a bit remiss of late with posting some of my progress with the viaduct and raised track project at my model engineering club taking up most of my spare time. The viaduct is now finished and we are having lots of fun testing the track before we open to the public in a month or so.Have been spending a lot more time in the workshop and making some progress. As I thought the metal polishing is a mindless task but am pleased I spent the time as hopefully the results speak for them selves.

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I have just completed my last batch of metal polishing yesterday and couriered today to the chrome platers .Hope doesn't get lost.

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I have been gogitating on how to keep the brass blinging without the elbow grease, time and copious quantities of brasso. What does a man do when he doesn't have an answer why of course he googles the problem(note gender specific).Have found a product marketed down here under brand name of Nyalic. Apparently invented for NASA as a heat and dirt proof clear coating for non ferrous metals.Sold in a spray can. Did some testing(highly scientific of course in the bosses oven) and heated brass disc up to 200 degrees c. No apparent breakdown in surface coating. Good enough for me so have been coating a lot of my brass. Happy with the results

OH MY!! I thought I'd done a good job polishing my metalwork!! Also, very thought that you may have found a way to keep all that brass permanently shiny has got to be a bit of a break through. Amazing job!!! What an engine!!

Thankyou Tony and Tim. Only time will tell if the nyalic coating is fit for purpose. Painted the brass disk over a month ago and no discolouration yet even with the salt laden air where we live.The non painted side has discoloured significantly during this time. The beauty of the product is it is so thin and hardly noticeable .Have sprayed my water pump ,taps etc without dismantling and they seem to still work fine. No clogging of threads etc .Look forward to putting names to faces at GDSF. Kind regards Shane

Hi Mike,I look forward to hearing how you get on. You would be best to start with their touch up kit which includes their de greaser and metal prep. Being a male you may be tempted not to read the instructions. I suggest in this rare instance the instructions would be well worth reading! The parts must be bone dry after you have thoroughly rinsed the metal prep off with water before you let loose with the spray can. To avoid runs I found with the first coat quick passes did the trick and keep as thin a coat as possible. The second coat was easier and not so inclined to run. Cheers Shane

Hi, With all the extra time I now have managed to make and install new cylinder blowdown lines and waste oil line from the drip tray last weekend. Whilist the copper tube supplied by STW was fit for purpose(but a bit short to clear the belly tank) I wanted brass (as one would expect) tube for the bling factor. I have used 3/16 OD brass tube and carefully and frequently annealed when completing the bends in my tube bender. For those interested the curves (except the curve of the cleading)are all half inch radius .The curve around the cleading I managed to do by hand without using the tube bender. I silver soldered the end of the 3 tubes together to keep tidy and new olives to the top ends. Applied nyalic to the ensemble to preserve bling . Another job ticked off. Cheers Shane

I would also recommend modding the drip tray to cover the length of the slide bar to the weighshaft, a lot of oil falls off here. You might also want to consider a second drain line on the other side. I think there is a shot of it in my thread as I have just done the same.